Dave Goes To The Dogs.

I love the Boss. If you know me, you know that. I have been stone cold cat crazy for the last 33 years. But that was by default - my father despises dogs and we were never allowed to have one. After a lot of careful consideration, I have decided to get my own dog. For the first time. It's a big step. I am a little nervous, but I have made the call and it's happening. Here are some of my reasons for this canine 180.

- All my friends who own dogs have told me that in order to train, raise and mold a dog with a good personality, you must be able to spend a lot of time with it. I work from home. Perfect.

- Many friends have been concerned because Boston Terriers are known for having health issues - particularly flatulence, heart ailments and breathing. I have discovered that purebred Terriers are usually devoid of the congenital defects, and the flatulence depends completely on diet and can be easily remedied.

- My mother won't stop reminding me that I have to walk the dog at least 3 times a day, like I'm retarded or something. I will welcome the new structure in my life - especially, again, because I work from home.

Those are the big points I have been mulling. I am very excited at the prospect of having a pet that doesn't sleep all day. I will be able to take it everywhere with me in the car. It will do tricks. It will protect my house. It will go for runs with me. I am thrilled.

I'd like to mention once more that I have given this a tremendous amount of thought and am definitely not entering into dog ownership lightly. To further hammer this point home, I'm happy to point out that I have found a professional breeder whom I trust and have forwarded all the emails we have exchanged (I ask a lot of questions) to two friends of mine who are very well versed on the subject of dogs (thank you Amy and Rachelle).

I've also seen photos of the parents - click here to meet the lovely Pixie Rose and Oscar - and am going to the breeder's next week to meet the humans involved and the mom and dad to be. My puppy will be born in late December and I'll be picking up little Shepherd Pye in February. Although he'll be no feline, I will continue the Pye pet naming convention.

And in case you're wondering, Boss is very alive, very well and I love him very much. He's got a good 5 years left in him and I plan to treat him like a little prince until he draws his last breath. It's just that... circumstances have led me to live in the woods - and it's doggie time.

Wow. Boss is gonna be so pissed come February.